"I think it's a terrible message and a message that shouldn't be sent," Trump said of Nike's new campaign. "There's no reason for it."

Nike's flagship store had been located ata Trump property next to Trump Tower in New York City, but it closed that location. The company announced last year that it was moving to a new location on Fifth Avenue in late 2018. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump noted that Nike is a tenant of his. "They pay a lot of rent," he said.

He also acknowledged that the choice to use Kaepernick was Nike's to make.

"As much as I disagree with the Colin Kaepernick endorsement, in another way — I mean, I wouldn't have done it," he said. "In another way, it is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn't do, but I personally am on a different side of it."

Trump has been a vocal opponent of athletes who kneel during the national anthem to raise awareness about police brutality against black Americans and other racial injustices.